Happy Friday,
This week, I’ve been thinking about time and attention from a slightly different angle. What is worthy of my attention today? What is deserving of the limited time I have today? We all have things that must get done, but we also spend much time on things that seem important or timely, but are actually neither. I found myself choosing not to engage with developments I have no real need to keep up with and remembering that not everything that asks for attention deserves it.
Here is the best of what I’ve read this week, and found worthy of my time (and yours):
A reminder from Seth Godin that natural ability and technique are two different approaches, and often, natural ability isn’t enough to get us to our goals.
Related to this week’s essay, an update on Thorstein Veblen’s Theory of the Leisure Class describes how luxury beliefs are the modern signaling device. Isn’t this theory fascinating in how clearly it explains human behavior in society?
Frederick Douglass by Robert E. Hayden, a poem first published in 1947, is just as ripe with symbolism and significance today.
David Perell’s The Paradox of Abundance is my favorite thing I’ve read in the past week. Here’s an excerpt: “Make no mistake. For the conscious news consumer, there has never been a better time to be alive. The Internet is filled with high-quality information, so savvy information consumers have access to more high-quality knowledge than at any point in human history.“
A primer explaining the importance of retiring art into the public domain, and a celebration of this year’s newly public domain works from 1925, like The Great Gatsby! Also, here is a list of literature published in 1925, an incredibly influential year for publishing and film.
Currently reading: Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow by Jerome K. Jerome
Have a lovely weekend.
